"You're not a constable, or a sheriff's officer, are you, sir?"
asked Dick pleasantly.

"Not unless someone made me one when I wasn't looking," replied
the stranger, with a shrewd smile.

"I understand," nodded Prescott. "This fellow Dodge hired you
to come down with him for more than one reason. In the first
place, he and Bayliss were afraid to come here without backing.
For another thing, Dodge thought that we'd guess you to be a
constable, and I'll admit that I did mistake you for an officer
at the outset. Dodge thought your presence would frighten us.
You look like a decent man, sir, and I'm sorry to see you in
such company. These two fellows were chased out of the Gridley
High School just because they were considered unfit to associate
with the members of the student body."

"That's a lie!" sputtered young Dodge.

"If you want to find out, sir, whether I'm speaking the truth,"
Dick went on, looking at the stranger, "just ask any well-informed
citizen of Gridley whether Bert Dodge and his chum, Bayliss, were
really chased out of the Gridley High School. You'll soon discover
who the liar is---Dodge or myself."

"Hang you!" roared Bert, advancing with fists clenched. "I'll
punch your head off your shoulders!"

"Wait one moment, though," advised the stranger, stepping between
Dick and Bert. "Here, young man!"

"What's this?" Bert demanded, as the stranger forced something
into one of his hands.

"It's the two-dollar bill you handed me," replied he of the stubby
moustache. "I reckon that I made a mistake in taking it."

"Aren't you on my side any longer?" gasped Bert, in utter
astonishment.

"I reckon not," was the crisp answer. "I didn't realize that
I was in such bad company."

"But you've only that mucker's word against mine!" cried Bert,
flying into another rage.

"I've watched you both, and I'm a pretty good judge of human nature,"
replied the farmer. "I prefer to believe this young man that
you seem to dislike so much."

"You're a nice one---you are!" uttered Bert, glaring in disgust
at the ally on whom he had counted.

"Perhaps you can calm down, Dodge, long enough to listen to reason,"
Dick suggested. "First of all, I am going to admit that we did
remove the front tires of your car and that we brought the tires
here and hung them on that line."

"Do you hear that?" demanded Dodge eagerly, turning once more
to the farmer. "They admit stealing my tires."

"I didn't quite notic